For the past four months Barnardo’s – the biggest children’s charity in the UK – has been running a project called The Teens’ Speech. Every week via the organisation’s YouTube channel young people were invited to share their thoughts on issues such as Health, Education and the Environment. The end goal of the project was to produce a short film designed to get to the heart of some of the issues facing young people today and, more importantly, their take on them:

Four YouTube users were invited to appear in the final film: JoeSYKE, jmorris31, MidgetWHITETRASH and Debaserxx. Firstly congratulations to them – hopefully everyone will agree that the film is a great success in its own right. But if you watch the film you will see in the credits that many more YouTube UK users contributed to the project as a whole, which is why this post is going to end with a list of seemingly unrelated channel names. So, why not see what else the people below have chosen to share via their YouTube channels and head to the TheTeensSpeech channel for more from the Barnardo’s team.

Is there one issue facing the world today that you feel passionate about? Have you always wanted to take your cause directly to people who have the power to do something about it, but lacked access to have your voice heard? Now is your chance to make your pitch - and win a spot at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where world leaders will gather to hear what you have to say about the issue that matters most to you.

There is just one week left to submit a video for the opportunity to go to Davos. Each year, heads of state, business leaders, and social entrepreneurs gather at the World Economic Forum to discuss the most critical challenges facing citizens and nations around the world. And this year, one of you will get direct access to a special panel of these leaders at the Forum, to let them know why your cause matters.

The submission deadline is Monday, January 4, 2010, and all videos should be no longer than three minutes. Speak clearly and from the heart. Five finalists will be selected by a judging panel comprised of Paolo Coelho, Arianna Huffington and Muhammad Yunus. These finalist videos will then go to public vote on January 8, with a winner announced on January 19.

This is the chance you've been waiting for... unprecedented access to the worlds most powerful leaders who can make a difference for your cause. Visit the Davos YouTube channel to submit your video and make your pitch to the world.

This year has been the biggest yet for online video, and for the first time we're sharing our official Most Watched lists and some of the fastest-rising search terms on YouTube. Some moments were big (President Obama's inauguration), some small (a Minnesota wedding party erupts into dance), some expected ("New Moon"), some surprising (Susan Boyle) — but all of them inspired, entertained and connected millions of people around the world via YouTube.

For these lists, we looked at view counts of YouTube's most popular videos this year (in some instances we aggregated views across multiple versions of the same video):

Then, to determine the fastest rising search terms for each month, we examined the billions of queries that people searched for on YouTube (through December 15):

Fastest Rising YouTube search terms by month (Global):

January: inauguration

February: christian bale

March: the climb

April: susan boyle

May: pacquiao vs hatton

June: michael jackson thriller

July: michael jackson

August: usain bolt

September: kanye west

October: paranormal activity

November: bad romance

December: tiger woods

Fastest Rising YouTube search terms by month (U.S.):

January: obama inauguration

February: on a boat

March: watchmen

April: susan boyle

May: pacquiao

June: michael jackson thriller

July: wedding

August: send it on

September: kanye west

October: paranormal activity

November: adam lambert

December: tiger woods

There are a lot of interesting nuggets in here. The fastest rising U.S. search term in July was [wedding], clearly related to "JK Wedding Entrance Dance," the third Most Watched YouTube video of the year. And while [michael jackson] was Google's fastest rising search term in 2009, [michael jackson thriller] was the faster rising search on YouTube. Movie trailers ("New Moon," "Watchmen," "Paranormal Activity") and inspirational moments (Susan Boyle, Usain Bolt) were popular, as were sensational celebrity scandals (Christian Bale, Kanye West and, most recently, Tiger Woods).

We hope to expand these lists in the future, so if there are any "Most Watched" categories you'd like to see in 2010, let us know by leaving a comment below.

This year’s iteration of The Davos Debates is up and running, offering one YouTube user the opportunity to attend this year’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos to put forward the cause they are most passionate about at a specially convened panel.

Our candidate will get the opportunity to engage and debate with the world’s leaders and take the opportunity that Davos offers to elevate the cause that is closest to their heart. As you can imagine: we’re looking for someone a bit special. Someone like you? See below for more details:

What sort of person are we looking for?

The winner of the Davos Debates will be someone with knowledge and passion for a public cause, who can demonstrate they're able to interact with the world's leaders. We want to hear real stories from people working on local issues, with a view to offering the opportunity to make these concerns global. Maybe it's fighting for human rights, or the environment, or against poverty? Maybe it's world fishing, education, or political freedoms? Whatever it is, we're looking someone who isn't afraid to get their voice heard, and give them the chance to be at Davos.

How does it work?

From today until the January 4, we're asking YouTube users to submit their video entries. Five finalists will be selected by a judging panel comprised of Paolo Coelho, Arianna Huffington and Muhammad Yunus. These finalist videos will then go to public vote on January 8, with a winner announced on the January 19.

Beyond that, and the information at the World Economic Forum channel, it's over to you. So get filming, rally some support and Make Your Pitch To The World.

On November 19 we announced the launch of the Shows area of the UK site, containing full-length programming from partners including Channel 4, BBC Worldwide and ITN. Today we are happy to announce that Five has been added to that list.

Five also intends to use YouTube as a platform to engage with fans of its shows. For example, plans are afoot to offer YouTube users the opportunity to audition for a guest appearance on “Neighbours”. Stay tuned to the UK blog for more information – you’ll hear it here first.